


Worth It

by commandershakarian



Series: Mass Effect one shots [21]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: M/M, M/M Pairing, Non canon pairing, Tumblr Prompts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-07
Updated: 2017-04-07
Packaged: 2018-10-16 01:16:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10560922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/commandershakarian/pseuds/commandershakarian
Summary: Ethan Shepard finds more than a friend in Garrus Vakarian.





	

Ethan Shepard had been a soldier for nearly ten years. He’d seen a lot of shit in his short 30 years of life. He’d won a medal for his heroic actions during the Skyllian Blitz, but every time he looked at the useless hunk of metal, he remembered the fear he felt that day. The fear that he might not return to see his family or his friends… that he wouldn’t be able to honor those that fell during the battle.

Shaking the dark memories from his thoughts, Ethan’s pale blue eyes stared across the table at the turian that sat there. Garrus had been silent while he pondered the past, the Star of Terra reflecting the overhead lights back at them. Ethan had no idea where the former C-Sec officer had found the medal. The last he’d seen of it had been a few months ago when packing his bags in anticipation of returning to service.

Garrus cleared his throat and lifted the object from the table, studying it for a moment. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Ethan closed his eyes as his heart sped up in response. Whenever he thought about the Blitz, his anxiety would return. Most days he could get through without a problem, but for some reason, with Garrus asking about his past, he felt nervous. That had never happened before.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, the soldier tried to calm the rapid beating of his heart. “It’s… complicated.”

“Life is complicated, Shepard.” Garrus waited for the human to return his gaze before continuing. “Whatever happened to you back then, it’s made you who you are. It’s made you the man I would follow into hell.”

Ethan sighed, leaning into the chair he sat in. He couldn’t run from the past, no matter how hard he tried. “I lost someone during the Blitz… someone I loved. Someone I can’t get back. Everything I’ve ever wanted.”

Garrus was silent, his mandibles moving in a way that expressed his distress. “There is still a chance to start over.”

“How can I? Who would even want to be loved by me?” Ethan’s voice broke at the end of his sentence. He covered his face with his hands, willing himself not to cry.

“Learning to love someone right takes forever, but for the right person-” Garrus pulled Ethan’s hands away from his face and met his gaze, a fierceness in them that the soldier had never seen before. “I think it’d be worth it.”

Ethan squeezed Garrus’ hand softly, a smile pulling at his lips. “I do too.”


End file.
